Stephen Bigelow, PhD - Education Leadership

  As we transition into 2025, I grapple with a surreal realization: we’re officially a quarter of the way through the 21st century. The number 2025 once felt like a far-off and ridiculous concept. Time has passed, time that has changed education, and time that reminds me — as much as I hate to admit it — that I’m officially old. I vividly remember closing my classroom for the holiday break while the world shared concerns about Y2K — the impending doom that would accompany the turn of the millennium. For those of you who weren’t around then (or were too young to remember), Y2K was when we were led to believe that the world might come to a screeching halt because computers couldn’t handle the date rolling over to the new century. It was a time of chaos, confusion, and unnecessary stockpiling. Can we finally agree to stop the persistent use of the phrase “21st-century learners”? It felt innovative and forward-thinking when mission statements and educational goals adopted this language...

  I am writing this while most students are on holiday break, which means a new semester will begin soon for most. For many, ending the semester brings on the stress of exams, which can make or break the student's GPA depending on the weighting. I've witnessed countless debates about midterm exams and their place in high school grading systems. While I don't remember how midterms were weighted in high school, the topic has followed me throughout my career. As a middle school teacher and administrator, the focus was on more formative assessments. Still, when I became a high school principal, midterms were a perennial hot topic, which continued during my decade as superintendent. I saw the full spectrum of opinions. Some believed midterms were essential to assess cumulative knowledge, while others felt they unfairly skewed final grades. As a superintendent during the COVID era, I had to navigate district-wide conversations about the evolving role of exams. During that time, a...

As I write this, there's a dusting of new snow outside. While some areas in Michigan got hit harder than others, my local school district is not calling a snow day today. I no longer have to field the endless stream of text messages asking, "Do we have a snow day?" That’s one of the benefits of being retired from my superintendent role. My daughter, who still attends the district I used to lead, is probably experiencing relief—this time from not being embarrassed by her dad’s decision-making! Snow days hold a unique place in my life—my perspective on them has shifted with time and location. As a student in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, snow days were rare. I can count on one hand how many we had throughout my K-12 years, even though we often received an incredible amount of snow. Back then, funding wasn’t tied to daily attendance, and life couldn’t halt whenever there was a snowfall. Contrast that with my current area of Michigan, where snow days are far more common and oft...

  The Traditional Calendar You've likely heard that the school calendar is based on our agricultural roots—no pun intended—but it reflects 19th-century urban school systems, where long summer breaks alleviated the challenges of unairconditioned buildings. While this calendar has endured, its relevance in modern times is increasingly questioned. As a student, teacher, and administrator who has experienced this schedule firsthand, I’ve seen its benefits and challenges. However, research on calendar structures, hours of education, and school start times invites us to reconsider whether this traditional model best serves the needs of today’s students and educators. Research on Calendar Structures As a student, I looked forward to summer breaks as a time for exploration and summer employment opportunities. As a teacher and administrator, these breaks offered professional development and planning opportunities. However, I’ve also observed how long summer breaks can exacerbate achievement...

Parent-teacher conferences have long been a part of the school experience. As a student, parent, teacher, assistant principal, principal, and superintendent, I have experienced these conferences from every angle. Over the years, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the frustrating. It’s time to rethink how we approach these meetings to ensure they are genuinely impactful for students, families, and educators. One of the most common formats I encountered involved teachers stationed in large spaces like gymnasiums, cafeterias, etc. Parents would line up, often for lengthy periods, hoping to grab a mere five minutes with their child’s teacher. While this approach allowed schools to accommodate large numbers of parents in a single afternoon or evening, it was transactional and rushed. The five-minute window was insufficient for serious discussions, and long lines created stress for parents, teachers, and administrators. The process was particularly frustrating when parents exceeded their time,...

  The very title of this article might bring some of you a sense of dread. Depending on your experiences, strategic planning can evoke memories of lengthy meetings, endless debates, or a document that ultimately gathers dust and is forgotten. Yet, when done collaboratively, the process can be significant.  Strategic planning is an opportunity to collectively define the mission, vision, goals, and pathways to achieve them. Teachers bring the classroom perspective; administrators add operational insights; parents and community members contribute their expectations and aspirations for the district. Together, these viewpoints create a shared sense of purpose.  While these discussions are essential, the process can get bogged down in wordsmithing the mission and vision statements. I occasionally found this stage frustrating, but it is necessary to walk away with a clear mission and vision that everyone in the organization can easily remember, attach to their day-to-day purpose...

  Schools increasingly emphasize financial literacy to prepare students for the “real world.” Currently, twenty-six states have personal finance course requirements for graduation, versus only eight states in 2020. We hope to prepare students to navigate an increasingly complex economic landscape and succeed in the digital economy. Its importance has grown as digital transactions replace cash, making it easier to lose track of spending. A tap or swipe lacks the physical cues provided by the weight of holding and handing over cash. With education, students can avoid debt or developing poor savings habits. Research highlights that individuals with strong financial literacy better manage money, avoid stress, and achieve long-term stability. Programs teaching budgeting, credit management, and investments provide students with tools to make informed decisions. Several schools have successfully partnered with local banks to bring guest speakers into classrooms, helping students understan...

  I read  The World is Flat by  Thomas Friedman sometime in the mid-2000s. While I had an appreciation for different cultures and a vague understanding of the world’s interconnectedness—I didn’t contemplate it much. I recall Friedman’s book stretching my thinking, detailing the rapid changes brought about by technology, global trade, and interconnected economies. Since then, we have witnessed an accelerated “flattening” fueled by advancements in communication and the rise of social media. What involvement should schools play in fostering global competence? Education is about preparing students for the future, which is undeniably global. By fostering global competence in K-12 classrooms, we guide the next generation in meeting the challenges of an interconnected world with confidence, creativity, and compassion.  By embedding global themes into the curriculum, students develop critical thinking skills to analyze issues from multiple viewpoints. Language learning enhan...

I recently saw on LinkedIn a repost by Tony Zeikle of Lightspeed of organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant : "We learn more from reading on paper than on screens. 54 studies, 171k people: we process print more deeply than digital content as long as it's informational rather than purely narrative. The paper advantage holds across ages and has grown over time. Long live physical books." This statement resonated with me, as I've always preferred the tactile experience of physical books. This preference might be generational, stemming from my upbringing with printed materials. However, scientific research supports that reading on paper enhances comprehension and retention, especially for informational content. The Science Behind Reading Mediums A 2019 meta-analysis by Virginia Clinton reviewed 33 studies involving 2,799 participants and found that reading from screens hurt reading performance relative to paper, particularly with expository texts. Another me...